Silent Practice rigs...

jajafofo · #1 03-08-2013, 08:29 AM

I love practicing with my acoustic b100 combo, but late at night I'd rather be quiet if the wife is sleeping since our house isn't huge and my music room is in the middle of the house. So this is what I've come up with and it's simply amazing for what I need.

I have a little Behringer mixer. I run a boss dr-550 drum machine, a Bass POD XT, and my computer into that. I can play along with and learn songs through the computer, or set a simple beat or pull up a preset on the drum machine and practice my timing and improv skills.

So I'm curious, what are you guys using for late night silent jams? I also have a POD HD300 I play guitar through, and I've thought about getting a cheap drum set and running everything through a mixer and headphones and having silent jam sessions.

Technotitclan · #2 03-08-2013, 08:32 AM

I run my 400 watt Ampeg head into a DI and plug headphones into it. Until recently it was my best solution

DWBass · #3 03-08-2013, 08:38 AM

Pocket Rock-It. http://www.pocketrockit.com/

Lord_Of_Funk · #4 03-08-2013, 09:14 AM

Have you looked into a headphone amp, such as those made by Vox? Mine was about $50. They get very good tone and I think you'll come to appreciate playing bass without being tied down to your rig - think about the possibilities. Playing outside in the summer is a favorite activity of mine.

Bassdirty · #5 03-08-2013, 09:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DWBass

Pocket Rock-It.

Mee too..
I bring it with me in the car too..that way I can practice during lunch..or learn new songs -pluggin my fone into the aux in. Pretty handy simple little device.

I also have a Boss br900cd digital recorder and laptop at home, so I use that too with headfones. Its got drum machine built in, tons of effects and sounds pretty good. Usually just use that if im recording some mad fresh beats.

But the rocket is a quicker setup , if im just lookin to practice or learn suttin.

Basshappi · #6 03-08-2013, 09:23 AM

Laptop > V-amp > headphones.
My micro-rig was MP3 > Pocket-RocKit > earbuds, but my pocket rockit died. Which reminds me that I need to go buy another one.

Kingbreaker · #7 03-08-2013, 09:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lord_Of_Funk

Have you looked into a headphone amp, such as those made by Vox? Mine was about $50. They get very good tone and I think you'll come to appreciate playing bass without being tied down to your rig - think about the possibilities. Playing outside in the summer is a favorite activity of mine.

1) I LOVE the fact that I can plug in and not be tied to an amp or PC.

2) I have two (one for guitar and one for bass) and both have a very noticeable hiss. And yes, the batteries are fresh. It's not a big deal for practice, but "great tone" . . . . not so much.

DWBass · #8 03-08-2013, 09:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Basshappi

Laptop > V-amp > headphones.
My micro-rig was MP3 > Pocket-RocKit > earbuds, but my pocket rockit died. Which reminds me that I need to go buy another one.

I bought mine 10 years ago. Still working even after being dropped quite a few times. I'd like to buy a new one though. They are great. I had the Tascam GB-10 but it was way more than I needed. I'm fine plugging my mp3 player in and practicing away.

El-Bob · #9 03-08-2013, 09:41 AM

I have an iPod with a mono-output setting, so I run my bass into the active jack of my amp, the iPod into the passive, and use some AKG's in the headphone jack. It takes some messing around to get a decent sound, but when I get it dialled in, it's great. I've actually been practicing a lot more since I've started doing this because I live in an apartment on a University campus.

boogie8008 · #10 03-08-2013, 09:42 AM

Korg Pandora. Amp models, effects, drum machine and smaller than an iphone.

derylgallant · #11 03-08-2013, 09:44 AM

I use the Vox AmPlug which runs on 2 AAA batteries ... you can plug it into your bass and then you have an output for earphones and also an Aux input to plug mp3 player of choice... I hook it all up.. put tunes or practice tracks on my Android phone which sits in my pocket and I can walk around my house or backyard or local grocery store and play away ...

true story

http://www.voxamps.com/amplug/

Steve Dallman · #12 03-08-2013, 12:19 PM

I still use my Bass Rockman, the original one with the chorus and distortion. Plug in an mp3 player or CD player and with decent headphones, it still sounds excellent.

Art Araya · #13 03-08-2013, 12:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by derylgallant

I use the Vox AmPlug which runs on 2 AAA batteries ... you can plug it into your bass and then you have an output for earphones and also an Aux input to plug mp3 player of choice... I hook it all up.. put tunes or practice tracks on my Android phone which sits in my pocket and I can walk around my house or backyard or local grocery store and play away ...

true story

http://www.voxamps.com/amplug/

+1. This is my practice rig when traveling

makohund · #14 03-08-2013, 01:55 PM

I have a strap with an ipod touch running ampkit and the ampkit interface attached to it on the horn end. Attached instrument cable runs to the jack end.

Put strap on bass, plug it in, plug in headphones and put & em on. Free to wirelessly roam the house while playing, with or without backing track. Tone is pretty good, too.

Kingbreaker · #15 03-08-2013, 02:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by derylgallant

I use the Vox AmPlug which runs on 2 AAA batteries ... you can plug it into your bass and then you have an output for earphones and also an Aux input to plug mp3 player of choice... I hook it all up.. put tunes or practice tracks on my Android phone which sits in my pocket and I can walk around my house or backyard or local grocery store and play away ...

true story

http://www.voxamps.com/amplug/

I wonder if I had just had bad luck but I recently acquired two of these, and both have a very annoying hiss.

Does yours hiss?

tombowlus · #16 03-08-2013, 02:39 PM

The Rapco iJam is pretty cool.

Jared Lash · #17 03-08-2013, 02:44 PM

My (currently) main amp is a Genz Benz Streamliner so I use the headphones out and the sound is surprisingly good. The only downside is that you have to unplug the cab when doing this.

I have a new (to me) Markbass Big Bang showing up Monday which has an auxilliary in (for an iPod etc) and a headphone out and apparently putting headphones in automatically cuts sound to the speaker output which will be really handy for me.

Now if the Big Bang pairs up with my Baer ML112 like I hope it will then I think I'm in business.

Definitely want to check out the Pocket Rockit though.

Sid Fang · #18 03-08-2013, 02:51 PM

At home, I have an EBS MicroBass II Preamp/DI feeding into a Focusrite computer audio interface. I could use the headphone out on the MicroBass, but I ususally practice to other tracks in my Sonar environment. On the road, I have one of the Vox AmPlug bass units, which doesn't sound anywhere near as good as the MicroBass - actually, I think it sounds pretty crappy, but then I think a lot of real bass amps sound pretty crappy - but it's cheap, fits in the accessory bin of my bass case, and weighs nothing.

Nephilymbass · #19 03-08-2013, 02:51 PM

Use the pod hd 300 you already have. I use the hd bean to practice at home. You can download bass models now but you dont have to. What I do is split the signal like I'm going to use two different amp models at once then ill use the fender bass man or the ampeg sim and the other signal ill keep as a dry bass signal. Then go into the mixer block and pan both channels to mono and adjust volumes till it sounds good. It's actually pretty versatile because ill even run an overdrive or fuzz with the amp modeling but still have the dry bass signal to thicken it up. If you want effects to go through both channels just put them before or after the signal splits and comes back together.

Took a while to get used to but now I really like it. I also use it with my big rig by turnin off all modeling changing the input/output mode to "effects loop" and run it in the effects loop of my pre amp for reverbs, delays, or whatever I feel like

Caca de Kick · #20 03-08-2013, 02:51 PM

I use an Ampeg Micro VR head. It has an 1/8" audio input jack as well as a headphone jack. Bonus that I can simply take this for small or basement jam sessions with buddies.
I was going to buy a Cafe Walter headphone amp, but I found the Micro VR on craigslist for $100 bucks.